Rick Majerus dies at 64 from heart condition

Ex-Marquette coach led Utah to NCAA title game in 1998

Utah coach Rick Majerus points to a player to get ready to enter a game in 2004. (AP file photo)

Outspoken, humorous and a basketball tactician, coach Rick Majerus died Saturday night from a heart condition. He was 64.

"No one saw the game like he saw it," said Loyola coach Porter Moser, a protege and former Majerus assistant at Saint Louis. "All of the people who will be talking about him, they didn't have the luxury of being in a room filled with dry erase boards and preparing for a game with Rick Majerus, watching him dissect how we're going to stop an opponent. He was a basketball guy through and through."

Moser said Majerus was taken off of life support Saturday night after dealing with a heart condition that caused him to take an indefinite leave of absence from Saint Louis. The school announced he would not return this season on Nov. 16 and assistant Jim Crews would lead the team this season.

Majerus compiled a 517-216 record through 25 years of coaching with only one losing season and a trip to the NCAA tournament championship game in 1998. He guided 12 teams to the NCAA tournament, including Saint Louis last season.

The larger than life coach is known most for guiding Utah to the NCAA title game, where the Utes lost to Kentucky.

Majerus started his career with his alma mater, then-independent Marquette in 1983. He moved on to coach at Ball State and Utah. After a three-year absence from the game, he returned to coaching to take on the job at Saint Louis in 2007. He had accepted a job in 2004 at USC but for health reasons instead returned to his role as an ESPN analyst.

"I missed practice," he told the Tribune of his reasons for accepting the Saint Louis position. "I missed the relationships. I like having a horse in the race."

He ended the Billikens' 12-year NCAA tournament drought last season with a 26-win season, advancing to the third round. The team was ranked for the first time since 1994-95.

Known for his voracious appetite, love of his mother Alyce (who died in 2011) and his adoration of the game, Majerus was basking in his return to the tournament last season.

He took leaves of absences during his career because of health concerns. He missed a few games in 2011-12 after injuring his leg in a sideline collision with players diving for a loose ball.

Majerus talked openly at times about his weight and health problems.

"Look, I haven't had hardly any bad luck," he said at last season's NCAA tournament. "I never look at it that way. I really never look at my health issues as woe is me. I've seen the reality of that. And it's not a pleasant thing."

Majerus was known as both a gruff taskmaster and a teacher of the game.

He was not married and had no children, but poured himself into game preparation, recruiting and the lives of his players and assistant coaches.

"We'd be having an hour-long conversation about ball screens and motion offense and all of a sudden, he would stop and say, 'Don't ever forget how lucky you are to have a family,'" Moser said. "'Don't ever let the profession take you away from your wife and kids.' He had a huge heart."

When he began at Saint Louis, Majerus told the Tribune, "It's a feeling you get. It's good to be in on the action."